I’ve discovered two intriguing sites where people can create user-generated content related to next month’s Winter Olympics. To tell you the truth, I’m not convinced that either one will really enhance one’s understanding of the Olympics much. But, for English Language Learners, they both certainly provide lots of good listening and speaking opportunities. So, for that reason, I’m adding them to this list:

Become A Virtual Sportscaster lets you, after registration, be a…sportscaster calling the action for several different video clips of Olympic events. You can then share the video with others.

The Best Of Us Challenge lets you see “challenges” (strange and fun competitions like balancing a stick on your foot) that Olympic athletes have created for ordinary people to beat them at. You can record your attempt at their challenge and post it at the site. In addition, you can create your own video challenges.

Vectorial Elevation lets you design an enormous light show that actually appears in the sky over the Vancouver Olympics. On top of that, you get your own webpage that shows a picture of what it looked like.
You need the Google Earth plug-in, and it looks a little more complicated than the usual applications I write about, but it’s too cool to miss. You can read more about the project at the PBS News Hour. It ends on February 28th, so you better hurry-up. I’m sure students will love it, and it will create lots of writing and speaking opportunities.

Fractions of a Second: An Olympic Musical is a fascinating interactive from The New York Times. It illustrates — musically — how little difference there is between the first and tenth-place finisher in various Olympic events.

Wow! Another great list, Larry. I’ll be sharing this one for sure! I just returned to Toronto after spending a week in Vancouver enjoying the Olympic experience. Please invite any English learners you know to join my writing challenge this month: Postcards for Olympic Athletes. http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/writing-challenge-16-postcards. I also posted a bunch of photos of the venues for learners who are interested. Your Olympic team is doing fantastic so far… Congrats.